background briefing 3-1 ...............3

Questions of bias

'POLITICIANS OF ALL PERSUASIONS AGREE: THE ABC JUST CAN'T GET THE BALANCE RIGHT.'

Well, you can't say fairer than that, can you?

This was the sub-heading in a section of the Dossier series in The Australian, used apparently without any sense of irony. The writer goes on to say: 'More than any other media organisation, the ABC is widely distrusted and even despised - yet usually the first tuned into among the political elite and decision-makers in Canberra.'

Dossier referred to the many complaints of bias from Lynton Crosby, the Liberal Party's federal director. But they failed to mention that an earlier report in The Australian said that Freedom of Information queries had revealed that 75% of all complaints from all political parties to the ABC had come from Lynton Crosby.

The public perception is very different.

Facts not myth

NEWSPOLL on ABC BIAS The Australian 22/2/01

Do you believe the ABC is biased against the Federal Government, in favour of the Federal Government or has no bias?

• No bias 58%
• No opinion 26%
• Biased against Federal Government 11%
• Biased in favour of Federal Government 5%
• [5% of Coalition supporters, 4% of ALP supporters]

and trust

The embattled ABC is the second most trustworthy organisation in the country, behind the big charities.

ÔConsumer research group Sweeney Research and advertising agency Grey Worldwide undertook the survey [rating trust in Australian institutions] in February 2000, asking respondents to rate between one and ten the trustworthiness of 18 different industries and institutions. On top were charities, with a mean rating of 8.06 out of 10. The ABC came in next at 7.11.Õ

Media companies came in at 4.26. Brian Sweeney says Ôthe rating of media companies (excluding the ABC) may have been influenced by the radio industryÕs Ôcash for commentÕ saga. ... But there is plenty of other evidence to suggest media groups in general are not tracking well in the public eye.Õ

The public goodwill for the ABC appears to span all income brackets, with 47% of those earning less than $25,000 rating the ABC between 8 and 10. Fifty per cent of all respondents put the ABC in the top trust bracket.

Source: PAUL MCINTYRE, The Australian, 14/12/00

Management fiddles, ABC burns

The response to a leaked document is an object lesson in how not to run an organisation

The witch-hunt has irrevocably damaged Mr Shier and his cohort, and contributed to further erosion of staff relations and morale. The leak called for a cool-headed, sophisticated response. Instead, Mr Shier's sledge-hammer approach in allowing police to be summoned has raised serious doubts about his ability to control and lead such a multi-faceted organisation.

Editorial, SMH, 21/2/01

In February federal police were called to the ABC to investigate the leaking of a confidential document - another farce at the ABC and one which can only be seen as an attempt to intimidate and control staff.

An internal document showing that the recently installed management of the ABC - endorsed and pumped up by a federal government intent on smashing the organisation's culture - had created 55 new executive positions at a cost of an extra $7.4m is leaked to a newspaper. The ABC's internal auditors ask the Federal Police to investigate the leak.

A number of staff are interrogated by police. In protest, there is a general staff walkout. As the drama builds, there are recriminations, culminating in the extraordinary spectacle of the chairman of the ABC, Donald McDonald, demanding an explanation for the federal police probe.*

Up to this point Mr McDonald had solidly backed the restructure and actions of Mr Shier, "but it seemed the decision to serve ABC employees up to police investigators is too much even for Mr McDonald. And so it should be."*

It was far from a serious transgression. After all, if the leaked document was accurate, it was merely outlining information that belongs to the public anyway. Taxpayers have an inalienable right to know how their money was being spent at the ABC.

To describe the punitive and insensitive response of ABC management to the leak as hypocritical is an understatement. However, the manner in which at least some executives have dealt with this situation suggests a critical failure of managerial expertise.

* Source: Editorial, The Age, 21/2/01